You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
